Robert Earl

After 20 years as a recording artist, Dale Watson is finding himself in the middle of a career renaissance. No one is more surprised by this than the trad-country troubadour himself. "It's been an overnight success," he says with a hearty laugh, calling from his home in Texas. "You go for so long and try so hard, hitting it for 20 years. Then all of a sudden something happens. I'm flabbergasted by the fortune and blessings I've been getting." Those blessings have included first-time appearances on the "Late Show With David Letterman," "Austin City Limits" and NPR. "All that stuff happened in the last couple of years, and...

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